Many film and video industries, companies, and individuals produce movies, television shows, commercial advertisements, music videos, internet videos, documentaries, and other similar content. In a common example, an initial version of a movie or television episode is created by recording actors on a set or on location using film or video cameras and microphones. In other situations, such as animated productions, voice actors are recorded in sound studios or sound booths and the resulting audio tracks are matched against video elements.
A problem commonly encountered during the production of a finalized video product is that some portion or portions of the recorded audio containing an actor's dialogue must be replaced. For example, after filming has been completed, it may be discovered that some recorded audio contains unacceptably high levels of background noise and that obtaining replacement audio is the best solution. Alternatively, a director may later decide that the emotional delivery of certain script lines needs to be changed. Similarly, new dialogue may need to be added.
These requirements can occur long after a project's scheduled recording has concluded, at which time the recorded actor may have departed for other projects. Currently, in such situations, it must be arranged for the actor to travel to a suitably-equipped sound recording facility so that the new audio can be recorded in a sufficiently controlled environment. This process is sometimes referred to as Automatic Dialogue Replacement (“ADR”), looping, a looping session, post-synchronization, or post-sync. It can entail significant costs, delays, and inconveniences. The present invention addresses these and other problems.